christmas in monroe part 2

8/3/2019 Christmas in Monroe Part 2

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Thursday, December 15, 2011 2011 Christmas in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Page 5

Happy Holidaysfrom

Bauer-Turner Furniture100 S. Paul St., Woodsfield

740-472-0565

by Marjorie MeilanderOnce upon a time when the grownups

ere very, very tall; when the snow wasvery deep; when nights were dark andquiet; when teams of huge Belgian horsespulled bobsleds past our house, and the carhad isinglass side curtains and tire chainsthat went, Slap, clank, clank: way backin the 20s and 30s, Christmas was NEVERthought of until after Thanksgiving.

The Wish Book may have started usthinking of it. That was Sears Christmassale book; the one with the dolls and thetrains and the perfume and the pipes and

neckties and negligees. We looked at it overnd over and marked the things we wanted.dont know how those old cedar pennyencils wrote so well through drool. Abouthat time the store windows in town blos-omed with their own Christmas merchan-ise. The hardware had shiny new pans andools and B.B. guns. The grocery store hadxotic once-a-year things like tangerinesnd walnuts. My favorite store was Bellsry Goods; there were scarves and boots

nd boxed handkerchiefs --but best of allere the dolls. None of them wet theirants or discussed their homework, or hadhouse trailer. Some of the more talented

nes said MAMA when you tipped themver, and closed their eyes when laid down.

In the center of the window stood a dollwho was not for sale. She was as big as a

toddler, and had an exquisite porcelainhead, and a wig of real human hair. Her hairwas not blond nor brown, but gray. I wastold that Mr. Bell had displayed her in hisChristmas window for 25 years, and thather hair had originally been blond, but hadfaded in the sunshine.

I wanted a doll for Christmas every year.It was not that I didnt like wagons andtrucks and blocks. I had an older brother,and I was allowed to play with his toys. Iwas a pretty destructive kid, but brothers

trucks were made of cast iron.In school, we began practicing for the

program. Up on the housetop, click, click,click, Jingle Bells, Joy To The World.We borrowed costumes from the church,and a sheet strung on a wire was our cur-tain. Since the school had no electricity, agasoline lamp was hung from a hook in thecenter of the room on program night.Because I was a quick study, I usuallyhad long recitations to say at both school

and church programs. Very early on, Idecided that the most important parts wereSanta, the angel, and the teacher. Santawas sometime a girl, but she had to bechubby, and I was shaped like a broomstraw. But I am happy to say that I made

both of the other roles in due course oftime, and they were as satisfying as I had

dreamed.Our school Christmas tree was a beauty.One of our teacher's neighbors had a groveof hemlocks on his farm, and a bushy eightfooter filled the front of the classroom andscented the air. The school did not ownmany ornaments, so we made them our-selves in recess time. Nothing is prettierthan paper chains and strings of popcornand construction paper angels made withlove.

When school let out for vacation, the

excitement was even more intense. We hadto do our shopping or make gifts for ourfamily. We had to help with chores andChristmas baking. Cutting out cookies wasfun, but cracking hickory nuts and pickingout their meat was not fun. Then therewere kindling and pails of water to bringin, all without grumbling, because we hadto be good, for goodness sakes.

The church program was always onChristmas Eve. It was only a half-mile, so

my family walked. I know we did notalways have a white Christmas, but in themagic picture book of memory, we walkedthrough snow. I was warm in my long

johns and long black stockings and woolserge dress. My winter coat was cut down

from an old one of my grandmas, but iwas new to me, and I was very proud of it.

The church had electricity, and its coloredwindows glowed with a promise owarmth and fellowship. Though most of uswere far from rich, we were wealthy withfriendship.

After the program, we got our treat -- apretty box filled with nuts and hard candy.We did not get candy very often, and thiswas special. There was ribbon candy, andfat striped pillows, and candies that bysome magic had a flower or a flag in themiddle. We also got a big orange. Big deal?

You bet! We seldom got oranges, and fosome kids this was the orange of the year.

Then home to bed, with a flatiron in aflannel bag tucked between the icy sheets.Looking out the window, I could see thestars through the bare branches of the bigmaple tree. And yes, indeed, I listened tohear sleigh bells in the snow -- and some-times I heard them, too!

I couldnt get up until Dad had the firepoked up and the kitchen warm. And I

couldnt look at my gifts until I ate my oat-meal. Did I get my doll? Sometimes I did,and sometimes not -- but I always gosomething wonderful; and I always hadMama and Daddy and brother, and a homethat was warm with love.

~ A Country Christmas ~

Date Pinwheel CookiesSubmitted by Sandra Berger

1 1/2 c. shortening2 c. brown sugar, 2 eggs5 cups flour (more if needed)1 t. soda, 1 t. cream of tartar1/2 t. salt

illing:1 box dates, 1/4 c. sugar1/2 c. waterCook until fine; mix nuts in after cool.Use 1/2 c. chopped nuts.Bake 375 10-15 min.Roll out dough and add filling. Roll into

og. Refrigerate before baking. Slice.

Pink Fruit SaladSubmitted by Sandra Berger

1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk1-21 oz. can cherry pie filling1-15 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained2/3 c. chopped walnuts1-8 oz. tub whipped topping, thawed

In a large bowl, mix milk and pie filling.

Add oranges, pineapple and nuts.Gently fold in whipped topping.Spread in a 13x9x2 pan or large casse-

role dish. Cover and freeze.Remove 15 mins. before serving.Can refreeze if needed

Snicker Doodlesby Jessica WilsonMix 1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter,1/2 c. shortening2 eggs

Stir in 2 3/4 c. flour,1 t. baking soda2 t. cream of tartar

1/4 t. saltShape into balls and roll in 1/2 c. sugar w/1t. cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Krinklesby Chelsey SmithCream 1/2 c. shortening

12 T cocoa4 T butter4 eggs2 t. vanilla

Add 2 c. flour2 t. baking powder1/2 t. salt

Chill for 2 hoursDrop by teaspoonful into powdered sugarBake on greased cookie sheet at 350 for10-12 minutes

We Wi

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Page 6 2011 Christmas in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Thursday, December 15, 2011

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Seek Him (The Lord)by Suzanne Scott Weber

Seek Him in the morning,At noon and in the night.Seek Him in your joy,In your peace and in your plight.

Seek Him when youre worried,When youre wrong and when youre

right.Seek Him in the darkness;Seek Him in the light.

Seek Him when youre hungry;Seek Him when youre filled.Seek Him when youre homeless;Seek Him when youre healed.

Seek Him in His glory;Seek Him in His might.Seek Him in His power,For He is the light.

For we who seek will find Him.We will ask and we will knowThat the Lord our God is with usWherever we may go.

What Can I Do?by Suzanne Scott Weber

In the (news) papers, on T-VI learn of desperation.

I say too bad. Oh, thats so sadThat theres a starving nation.

What can I do? Me, myself...So guilt steps in to taunt me.I cant help all - thats for surebut I can give undauntedly.

Whether theyre near, whether theyrefar

What really makes the difference?Just do it now, start today.And do it with persistence.

Jesus calls us to provideFor the orphan and the widows.When done with love, we will find......It opens many windows!

See the 12 Days of Christmas,Beacon, Page 9

by Merry E. VargoMerry Christmas! Froehliche Weinach-

ten! Jouyeux Noel! Feliz Navidad! Here it is,the beginning of the Christmas season. Thismakes most people happy, but there are peo-ple who simply dont want to participate. Ifasked why, these modern day Scrooges willsay Its too commercial or because thingsarent the way they used to be.

Over the course of my life I havewatched the season change. When I was achild back in the 1950s, Dec. 1 marked thebeginning of the Christmas season. The col-ored pictures of pilgrims and the construc-tion paper turkeys were taken down atschool and we began to decorate the class-room for Christmas. Pure joy! The best dayof the year was just around the corner! Wepracticed for the Christmas pageant and

made gifts for our parents in time createdby being good and getting our lessons donequickly. The Christmas catalogs arrived inthe mail and lights and decorations began toappear in commercial areas. Few peopledid much decorating before Dec. 10.

My family were traditionalists and usu-lly waited until Dec. 15. Anyone who putp their Christmas tree before then wasrushing the season. Christmas Eve andhristmas Day were the end of the season.oth were days set aside primarily for reli-ious services and family gatherings.hildren got gifts, but fewer each year as

hey got older. After all, Christmas is forids was one of the slogans back then. Onec. 26 most people took down their dec-rations. The world became the drearyeality of winter, but it had been fun whilet lasted.

Thanksgiving is now the first officialay of the season. A day to overeat beforeitting the mall early the next morning to

egin Christmas shopping. Dont worryhether youll be in the mood or notecause the Christmas decorations haveeen up for a week at the very least, andften since Nov. 1. Some people evenegin to decorate their houses in mid-ovember, but the people who never tookown last years decorations already havehem beat. Nope, decorating your house

before Thanksgiving is still seen as rush-ing the season a bit. Of course, that onlyapplies to the inside of the house as out-door lights must be hung in good weather,so any time after Halloween is okay. Mostpeople wait until the day afterThanksgiving when the season officiallystarts to turn them on.

And what a season it is! Everything isfor sale and on sale. Credit cards exist soyou can buy people things they never evendreamed of asking for, not to mentionneeding, wanting, or ever using. The latterbrings up the issue of re-gifting, but Iwont venture into that here. Besides fren-zied buying, there are the never-endingChristmas parties. Gifts are as much arequirement as overeating and perhapsdrinking one too many, but they are

exchanged by the secret Santa method soyou cant really get mad at the person whoknew you so little that they got you a Chiapet. But at least they had it wrapped pro-fessionally so your face didnt fall untilyou got off the wrappings. that makes agreat candid picture to hang on the bulletinboard and at least that way everybodyknows why Evelyn in Accounting isntspeaking to you.

Eventually the big day rolls around andyou rip open your presents, hide your dis-appointment, drink too much and overeatsome more. Christmas is more or less overat that point except for the leftovers.Starting Dec. 26, you stand in a special lineto get cash back for your awful gifts whilenursing a hangover with a screaming kidbehind you. Some folks are just so saturat-ed with Christmas that all the decorationscome down Dec. 26. Others dont want itto end and keep up the tinsel until mid-January, which is easier now than in my

childhood as everything is artificial andmade in China, where they have no idea ofwhat Christmas is all about...

All of this bothers some people, and, I,truth be told, used to be one of them.However, I have seen the light! Perhaps itsdue to passing my 60th birthday or some-thing I ate, but I now have a new outlook.Season is always capitalized for

Christmas. Its never capitalized for hunt-ing, Halloween, Eater, or anything else. Ibelieve that goes back to the time whenChristmas was celebrated as a religiousholiday. Yes, it still is. You can buyChristmas cards with a nativity scene onthem or a snow-covered church with fakesnow on it. One of the Christmas stampsyou can buy to send them even has a reli-gious tone if you dont want Santa orKwanza.

But, actually, Christmas is a season likespring or fall or winter. True, we have offi-cial dates when those begin, but whenyoure shoveling six inches of wet snow inNovember, you call it winter, no matterwhat some meteorologist tells you. If its90 degrees and the AC is cranked on high,you call it summer whether its May 19 or

Oct. 14. Such, as I see it, is the way toexperience the Christmas season. If thestreetlights are sporting lighted stars andholly wreaths, lighted trees are sproutingeverywhere, your ears are hearingChristmas songs (carols are religious,Jingle Bell Rock is a Christmas song),and every other ad tells us to buy a gift, itsChristmas season.

Participate or not as you please, after all,its a free country. Ignore it as you would adisplay of snow blowers if you lived inFlorida or surfboards if you lived inAlaska. Just because its the season forsome folks, it doesnt have to be the seasonfor you. Just dont carp about how its tooearly, too commercial (the Chinese dounderstand that!), or overdone. Dontcomplain its lost its meaning becausewe are the ones who give meaning to theevents in our life. Participate or not asmuch as you please. If you dont want toput up a tree until the 24th and take it down

the 26th go for it. If you dont want to putup any decorations at all, dont. You donthave to take them down that way.

But, if you do want to participate, throwyourself in as deeply as you wish. Decoratethe cat, shop till you drop, pig out onChristmas cookies, toast the season ineggnog or do it up right and throw a party.Enjoy! Its another season!

~ Another Season ~


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Thursday, December 15, 2011 2011 Christmas in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Page 7

My daughter presented this to me lastear also a copy to her siblings.She has many hobbies and is getting to

njoy them now.Linda was a native of Woodsfield until

she married State Patrolman Benny Mikes.They reside in Carlisle, Ohio in a beau-

tiful country home.I thought your Beacon readers would

enjoy the poem.A Merry Christmas Eve

Twas the night before Christmas and allhru the town.

The snow was piled knee-deep and stilloming down.The massive pine tree on the courthouse

quare danced to the rhythm of bells on the

ir.Its branches were laden with hundreds

f lights,They glistened and twinkled on this

nowy night.The stores were all closed, not a person

bout,All had sought shelter to wait the storm

ut.But wait! Out on Oaklawn, there was a

right glow,Shining down on a quaint little cottage

uried deep in the snow.The home was all lit up with decorations

f cheer,The music rang loud for for all neigh-

bors to hear.The front lawn was parked full of used

cars and trucks,It looked like a car dealership down on

his luck.Betty peeked out her window and cov-

ered her ears,

Millies children were home anotherparty she feared.

What should she do call out an alarm,Or, join the festivities and party til morn.

She grabbed here red coat, out the frontdoor she flew. Tis Christmas she sangout Ill just party too.

Halfway across the snow-laden road shemet Ruthie splayed out like an angel, ingreat piles of snow.

Grabbing Ruths collar she pulled herupright, Come On Theres a Party atMillies Tonight!

Mother stood over the stove, woodenspoon in her hand, stirring more nuttiesand candies to fill the big pan.

Janice was mixing the holiday punch,stir in the kool aid, a little sugar too, stillneeded something, Ah! Some Spirit WillDo!

She popped open a bottle of bubbly

brew,When the cork hit the ceiling, bounced

off the wall, came down in Moms candy.Janice shaking with laughter dashed

down the hall.Michael was telling a story of a

Christmas past.Oh, what a party all night it would

last!Gail was fussing with baubles on Moms

Christmas tree.While Johnny and Gary were watching

TV.Bart had gone to shovel the walk free of

snowWhile Becky took pictures for a later

show.When out on the drive there arose such a

clatter.Michael jumped from his chair to see

what was the matter.Lorah ran to the front door, tripped over

the cat, knocked over the Christmas tree,

that took care of that.Johnny jumped up and rushed to her aid,

slipped on a throw rug,Put a right nasty bump on his head.

Meanwhile the cat climbed the curtains,bringing them down,

Emitting a Blood Caroling MeowWhat an unearthly sound.Becky continued snapping pictures.

What a wonderful show.She giggled in spite of herself, Oh

What They dont Know!Meanwhile Betty and Ruthie continued

to smile, clapping their hands....once in awhile.

Poor Mother was peeking from thekitchen door,

What wonderful children, I should havehad more.

Michael rushed to the window, threwcurtains wide,

Wiped the frost with a dishtowel, took asneak peak outside.

Moms drive was all lit up with brightChristmas lights,

Beckoning a welcome on this Christmasnite.

The noise grew louder down Guilford itcame,

Slipping and sliding on the snow cov-ered lane.

A little old driver was sitting behind thewheel,

A smile on his face he couldn't conceal.His wife was all nestled beside him, try-

ing to keep herself warm.It had been a long ride all the way from

the farm.Its Benny, Its Linda Michael cried

out.Let the party begin, he declared with a

shout.The bed of the truck was crammed full

of so much cheer,

Enough to last everyone until the nextyear.

Birdhouses and rabbits just to mention afew

Candies and cookies and a surprise otwo.

Still Betty and Ruthie continued tosmile, clapping their hands...once in awhile.

They ate til their buttons popped, theylaughed til they cried.

They opened the presents, looking fogoodies inside.

Oh wait! Mother cried out, Ive gosomething for you!

She brought out an old box, shed kepall these years, trimmed in blue ribbons,maybe some tears.

Inside were paper doll babies, a RoyRogers gun, bringing back memories otimes that were fun.

Part of an old choo choo, a key for someskates, a miniature doll house, buildingblocks too. Games and puzzle books foeveryone to do.

Still Betty and Ruthie continued to smileclapping their hands..once in a while.

The party was over they said their good-byes,

See you tomorrow at early light.Mother lay in her bed totally spent,My how the years had came and went.She tugged at the blankets tucked them

in tightTwas going to be a cold Christmas night.She dreamed of years past so long agoHer children were dressed in their PJs

and tucked into bed. Now Linda, NowJanice, Now Michael Eugene, Now Gail,Now Lorah, you listen to me.

Say your prayers, count your blessingsand drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow there will be plenty of pres-ents under the tree.

Love you, Linda

~ A Merry Christmas Eve ~

Merry Christmasfrom the Staff of the

Monroe County Beacon

P 8 2011 Ch i i M M C B W d fi ld Ohi Th d D b 15 2011


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Page 8 2011 Christmas in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Thursday, December 15, 2011

1341 Clark St.

Cambridge, OH 43725

www.seormc.org

740-439-8000

Wishing You and Yours

Happy Holidays by Yvonne Reusser, WoodsfieldThe story behind this has several facets.

Monroe Artists, under the direction of ourlocal professional oil painter GeorgiaDangel, decided to do Old Master styleof paintings on our Tuesday morning work-shop. Getting close to Christmas I decidedto compose a small painting of items thathave meaning and memories ofChristmases past for a greeting card.

The candle holder was crafted by myGrandpa Sol Weber in the 60s; each of hisgrandchildren have one along with manyother handmade items that show his andGrandmas love for their seven kids and 19grandkids.

The iron horse toy was a Christmas giftto my dad Edsel Weber and his brothers inthe Depression years-they sure dont make

toys as sturdy as that one anymore! Theshiny ornament, while not an antique, is areplica of those mother decorated our treewith. These four people I named blessedmy life in so many ways, including makingChristmas a special time in our familysChristian lifestyle. that brings us to Teddy-although falling apart at the seams, a gen-tle reminder of my second Christmas,another testimony to the loving, caring

family God put me in. Completing thepainting is a small ceramic box with thesimple word memories in front, broughto our workshop by fellow painter MarleneMoose. She handed it to me and it finishedoff the composition. So, this is my MerryChristmas wish to all of you and especial-ly to my Dad in Florida with many thanksfor the many ways you bless my life!

Painting by Yvonne Reusser

~ Woodsfield Christmas Festival Gingerbread House Winner ~The People's Choice winner of the gingerbread contest, held during the Woodsfield

Christmas Festival Dec. 3 and sponsored by the Monroe Writer's Group, was Sarah

Hochstetler, also the winner of the adult division. Winner of the children's division wasAshtin Austen. Alexandria Austen was the winner of the youth division.

Photo submitted by Merry Vargo

christmas in monroe part 2

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